Harpaphe sp.

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

A Harpaphe sp.

This is also known as the almond-scented millipede due to it producing hydrogen cyanide as a defensive aid.

The roughness on the surface of this first animal is just tiny dew drops.

Harpaphe sp. April 2015

Harpaphe sp. 2015

Harpaphe sp. 2015

This one from last year is either a juvenile or has just recently molted:

Below is the same one but under UV.
I first noticed a Harpaphe millipede on a dark night wandering around the forest looking for black-light friendly mushrooms. It was apparently sleeping as at first it appeared from a distance to be a cluster of blue bristles. As the light got closer it began to move. It seems clear that black-light bothers arthropods that fluoresce as they actively try to get away from it.

Harpaphe sp.

Peltis pippingskoeldi

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

This Peltis species is one of the “bark beetles”

Peltis pippingskoeldi beetles excavatiing a conk.

Peltis pippingskoeldi eating a conk.

These like to “play dead” when they get disturbed. I was initially puzzled wondering why I was finding only dead ones.

Peltis pippingskoeldi

Leave them alone and they come back to life pretty fast.

Their chosen conk; a young Fomitopsis pinicola

Peltis pippingskoeldi starting some two level excavations on that conk.

Peltis pippingskoeldi

Peltis pippingskoeldi

Peltis pippingskoeldi

Peltis pippingskoeldi

Peltis pippingskoeldi

I am believing that these next ones are some sort of beetle larvae (based on their body and the configuration of antennae).

Another conk with beetle larvae

beetle larvae

Buprestis aurulenta the Golden Buprestid Beetle

A metallic Buprestid beetle

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

Buprestis aurulenta is also known as the Golden Buprestid Beetle.

This one is dead.

Buprestis aurulenta the Golden Buprestid Beetle

ticks

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

Ticks really suck.

That might be punny but it is also true.
No account of forest OR xeric life would be complete without mentioning ticks.

Amblyomma cajennense from Jim Hogg County Texas; male on left – female on right

Amblyomma cajennense
I encountered this pair, a male and a female, while doing field work in South Texas, rather than here.

adult male of Dermacentor occidentalis

Dermacentor occidentalis
Pacific Coast tick
This is the only one of these I’ve ever found here at home in over a dozen years of living here. This one, shown inside of a plastic bag, was noticed hanging spread-eagle from a blade of grass in June 2014. The mouthparts are considerably shorter than the ticks shown above or below.

Female and male Ixodes pacificus; ticks will feed on ticks.

Ixodes pacificus
One of the tick species from home. It MIGHT be the most common one that lives here.

Just cold, not dead.

Notice that barbed hypostome?

A male Ixodes pacificus from Mendocino County, California

It amazes me how small ticks can be. This is that last male Ixodes shown above; after it was dead.

Its feeding implements are the featured image.

Above is an adult male Ixodes pacificus.
Below is a larvae with six legs rather than 8 legs like a nymph or an adult. Larvae can supposedly only transmit Bartonella.
For a sense of scale, those are human hairs.

Hopefully this one was a larvae but I can’t tell for certain if it has 6 or 8 legs. It was destroyed during removal.

Ixodes pacificus that was noticed a day late

This one was clearly a nymph. Bigger than a larvae but still too small.

This is that same, now dead, nymph of Ixodes pacificus after having its meal interrupted.

This nymph was feeding for a bit longer

Ixodes pacificus nymph feeding

This nymph has been fed longer still

Ixodes pacificus nymph after a night of feeding

And another that was somehow missed a whole day!

Ixodes pacificus nymph noticed too late

Notice the hugely engorged Ixodes on the right ear of this woodrat?

Neotoma fuscipes; with Ixodes pacificus

Ixodes pacificus

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

Ixodes pacificus is also known as the black-legged tick.

Feeding implements of a tick (dead)

It is the most commonly encountered one here at home (in Mendocino County, California).

Ixodes pacificus trio

Dorsal view of an adult female Ixodes pacificus

Ventral view of an adult female Ixodes pacificus

Ventral view of head of an adult female Ixodes pacificus

Ventral view of the head of an adult female Ixodes pacificus

Dorsal view of an adult male Ixodes pacificus

Ventral view of an adult male Ixodes pacificus

Dorsal view of a nymph of Ixodes pacificus

Ventral view of a nymph of Ixodes pacificus

Ventral view of head of a nymph of Ixodes pacificus

A few more looks at those:

Adult female Ixodes pacificus

Adult female Ixodes pacificus

Nymph & adult male Ixodes pacificus

Adult male Ixodes pacificus

Adult male Ixodes pacificus

Ixodes pacificus

Ixodes pacificus trio; notice the nyph has crawled halfway through the ziplock. One escaped.

Check out those paired claws and the cool flexible adhesive pads on their feet! They sure can move fast.

Ixodes pacificus

a male Ixodes pacificus

Ixodes pacificus

The next images are after it died (using transmitted light for illumination).

Ixodes pacificus

Those sharp, and weirdly beautiful, blades are on the end of organs called “digits”. They are akin to the fang parts of a spider, and similarly are referred to as the chelicerae. Whereas those of a spider bear a piercing & injection tip, the tick uses these for carving away bits of flesh and excavating a pit in the animal that they bite with those crazy-looking cutting implements. Those rounded palps are used to help with the excavation process.

Ixodes pacificus

That tube in the center is called the hypostome and it is used to feed on the blood produced by the injury it creates.

Ixodes pacificus

Notice how the tube of the hypostome is barbed to help the tick maintain a hold while it is feeding. An adhesive secreted by the tick also helps it to get a secure purchase. This barbed tube is the part of the head that tends to break off inside of the flesh during the act of removal.

Ixodes pacificus

More images of that same dead tick (using reflected light for illumination)

Ixodes pacificus

Closer viewing of the hypostome:

Ixodes pacificus

Hypostome of Ixodes pacificus

Check out the hypostome on this dead Ixodes pacificus

Ixodes pacificus can transmit a variety of illnesses but the two big problem sorts that live here are the spirochetes known as Borrelia, which includes lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), and a piroplasm called Babesia. Babesia duncani is endemic here but the potential human health impact of other Babesia species is only beginning to be appreciated. Bartonella, Ehrlichia and others can also join the fun.

Babesia can be seen dividing inside of a human red blood cell below (1000x using Wright’s stain to visualize).
This is probably B. duncani but it did not test positive in any of the Igenex tests that were performed.

I did the blood smear below for myself AFTER being diagnosed with Babesia duncani based entirely on symptomology.

Babesia in human blood

This is from a few months ago:

Babesia in human blood

More images; if you really want to see more.

Amblyomma cajennense

Posted on January 1, 2010 by admin

Amblyomma cajennense
AKA the cayenne tick

Amblyomma cajennense from Jim Hogg County Texas

The cayenne tick has a wide-spread distribution in warmer climates and is claimed to be among the world’s most important ticks in terms of being a human disease vector. These images were provided thanks to this species being encountered while doing field work in South Texas.

Amblyomma cajennense habitat in Jim Hogg County, Texas

More images of those two beauties.
Notice how long their mouth parts are? This is part of why the bite from these ticks really hurts when compared to some other tick species.

Amblyomma cajennense from Jim Hogg County Texas

My first encounter with this species was actually not noticed until after returning home when I found five nymphs I had missed. Two were destroyed during removal.

Amblyomma cajennense from Jim Hogg County Texas

These can carry a BUNCH of serious problems including tularemia, rocky mountain spotted fever and assorted rickettsias. I was really lucky. Those five only gave me Ehrlichia which a simple round of antibiotics cleared up promptly.